Dust-collecting system.



W. E. ALLINGT() N.

DUST COLLECTING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE z2, 190s.

1,048,477., Patented Dec.3"1, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

QM i @Q W. E. ALLINGTON.

DUST COLLECTING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 111111122, 190s.

1,048,477. Patented 11811.31, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. E. ALLINGTON.

DUST COLLECTING SYSTEM.

APPLloATIoN YILBD JUNI; 22, 190s.

Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 U7@ WM@ L UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

WILLIAM E. ALLING'roN, oFsAoINAw, MICHIGAN;

Specification of :'Letters Patent.

Patented, Dec. 31, 19.1.2.t

Application led June 22, '1906. Serial No. 322,820.

To all whom 'it may concer/n.:

as are used for example in keeping clean grain elevators and the like. tHeretofore it has been the practice 1n grain elevators to install asystem for the collection of dust arising from the handling of ain,comprising-a number of leads ofl ipmg extending to differentareas of theuilding to be cleaned, (for instance to the different floors andgalleries of the building,) to effect communication between such leadsand a large trunk, of sufiicientcapacit-y as to handle the air andsmaterial from substantially all of the different leads, and to install afan and dust-collector of suitable capacity to handle the maximumquantity of air and material which may be supplied through the trunk.Such systems have been found in practice to be open to nu'nerousobjections, the most obvious of which is the great size of the fannecessarily used andv the large expenditure of power or force necessaryto drive the fan. It is true in such a dust collecting installation,that while all of the leads are necessary to secure l proper cleaning ofthe premises, the maximum load imposed upon the system under any normalcondition is greatly less than the fan-capacity necessarily provided forsuch system, so that such a system is operated with greatI waste ofpower and lack of economy. Further I have found that such systemsreadily become clogged and useless, in greater or less degree, for therebeing open communication between all of the leads and the main trunk atall times,

' if any one lead starts to clog, the freer air supply from other leadscauses thc fan to draw harder from such free leads, and thereby reducethe exhausting effect in the choked lead where it is most needed, sothat theclogging becomes aggravated until it results in a practicaldisabling of that branch of the system, and in course of time the wholesystem is deleteriously adected so that the piping must be manuallycleaned.

insurin One of the salient objects of my invention 1s to provide asystem wherein the Vef- .fective work of cleaning an elevator or likeplant may be accomplished by an installation involving a fan of muchless capacity for any given size of plant than in the old system, and toprovide means for a the operative association of the fan w1t only suchlead as may be in practilcal operation at any given time, so that thefull efficiency of the fan may be employed 1n the transportation of airand material through .the operating lead, thereby mini mlzing the chanceof choking any one of the leads.

Another object of m invention is to provide simple means w ich may bereadily operated from any part of the structure,

Yfor controlling the communication of the several leads with the fan,and to so arrange 'said devices that while, under normal conditions,communication is constantly afforded between the fan and that leadlwherevin activity is most nearly constant, such'communication may beinterrupted and commun1cat1on effected between the fan and some otherlead.

taken in conjunction'with the accompany' ing drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a diagrammatic elevation of a system embodying my invention,shown as applied to a grain elevator. Fig. 2 is a de- .tail View of thecontrolling cable connection with a movable trunk. Fig. 3 is a planview, and, Fig. 4 a side elevation, each with parts broken away, of apreferred means for controlling communication between the fan and thepiping leads. Fig. 5 is a detail in front elevation of the lock shown inFigs. 3 and 4, Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged details of valves shown inFig. l, and, Fig. 8 is an elevation with parts in section, of a modifiedembodiment of a part of my invention.

Throughout the drawings like numerals of reference refer always to likeparts.

In Fig. l, I have illustrated the application of my invention to a grainelevatorr building, which comprises, as is usual in grain elevators, amachinery floor, a garner floor, a storage floor, and a distributionfloor in the cupola of the building, a belt gallery, leading to thestorage house, and the first i'loor, to and below which extend the eleYended receptacles directly connected with the branch pipes 11, andlying at the Hoor level, so that dust may be swept from the floor, incleaning, into the normally open mouthsof the sweeps, to be drawn in bythe air current flowing-through the pipe and conveyed through the dustcollection system. Of course the suction main 10 is,

of proper capacity yto handle the supply7 from all of the branches 11thereon.

One or more leads 13, 13, 13b, are. provided, it being my preference toprovide oneriser 13b for all of the suction mains 10 of the cupola, saidriser being preferably of substantially the area or capacity of each ofthe suction mains 10; another lead, 13a connecting with the beltgallery, and a third lead 13 arranged to connect with the suc- `tionmain 10 for the first floor, each of the last named leads being ofsubstantially the same capacity as its suction main 10.

Other arrangements in detail may bviously be made to suit conditions ofuse, it being the general plan of my installation, however, to have eachlead, or riser, only of suiicient capacity to take oii' t-he air supplyfrom the one suction main 10, a lead being provided from each area solocated, or arbitrarily divided, that in cleaning it will be treated asa unit.

Where, as in the cupola, more than one suction main 10 communicates withthe riser, I arrange the uppermost main for open' communication with theriser and provide at the juncture -of each of the lower mains with theriser a suitable valve 14. As best illustrated in detail in Fig. 7, sucha valve preferably comprises a valve proper 15, a weighted stem 16,normally holding the valve in position to close the distribution pipefrom communication with the y riser, and movable to throw the valve toposition, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7,

` to open the particular distribution pipe to the riser and cut 0Ecommunication ofthe riser with the distribution pipe' normally openingthereto.

For convenience a cable 17, at one end attached to the operating lever16, of the valve, may be run over a pulley 18 and arranged to besuitably secured, as by attachment to a hook 19, in position to hold,the valve to dotted line position shown in Fig. 7.

Fromv the rst floor branch pipes, piping connection is usually made asat 20, from each branch pipe 11, to an elevator boot, a

Vvalve 2l, as best shown in Fig. 6, being preferably provided tonormally maintain open communication between the pipe 10' and the ipe20, communicating with ythe elevator oot. The valve structure, 'shown indetail in Fig. 6, comprising preferably a valve proper 22, the lweightedhandle 23,

an operating cord 24, whereby the valve may readilyvbe thrown to openposition to cut 0H communication of the pipe 20 with the 'pipe 11, andopen communication through said branch pi e 1l with the floor sweeps 12,on the first oor.

For the piping installation described I provide a fan suitablyproportioned in 'capacity for any one of the leads or risers, andprovide a valve arrangement by which said'fan is maintained normally incom-:f munlcation with the lead 13, so that ventifjmi lation is normallyaorded for the elevator boots, and I further so provide the valvearrangement that it may be varied to effect communication between thefan and either of the leads 13a,13", but at the same time will interruptthe communication between the lead 13 and the fan. The preferred arrangement for accomplishing this result is shown`in Figs. l to 5,wherein 25 indicates the fan, having its inlet connected, as by a trunksection 26, preferably of substantially the same capacity or sectionalarea as any one of the leads 13, 13a and13b,-with a grain trap 27, ofconstruction to be hereafter more fully described. The Aintake of thet-rap is provided as at 28, with a socket member of a flexible pipingconnection, into which takes thejoint portion 29, of a trunksectionvalve-member 30, secured to a pivot 31, for lateral motion therewith,and adapted to be laterally moved by a lever 32, secured to saidpivotpinrat its outer extremity the valve member 30 is operativelyassociated with an arc 33, into which debou'ch the mouths of the leads13` 13a, 13", so that by movement to three lateral positions the valve32 may be made to effect communication between any one of said leads,and the grain-trap and fan. A weight 34, se# cured to arcable 35,passing over a pulley 36, and connected with the free end of the valve,normally maintains the -valve in such position as to communicate withthe lead 13, but for moving said' valve to either of its alternativepositions, I provide a cable` Aso 'and the outlet trunk 26.

2:77 having branches 38 and 39 extending over suitable pulleys 40, forcontrol respectively from the belt gallery and the various Hoors of thecupola.

It will be seen that either cable 39 or 38 may be pulled to swing thevalve member laterally around to position to communicate with either ofthe leads 13a or 13". I also provide means for locking the valve ineither of its adjusted positions, such means, for illustration,comprising a locking lever 41, provided' with a transverse arm 42,notched as at 43 for engagement with the operating lever 32 of thevalve, and pivoted as at 44, upon 'a rod Whereon is mounted a do-ublegrooved pulleyr wheel 45, over which take cables 46 and 47, extending tothe diii'erent areas of the building where control is desirable, as overpulleys 48, the locking lever being preferably counterbalanced as at 49,and the parts being so relatively arranged that from any area of thebuilding, where it may be desired, one of' the cables 46 or 47 may beoperated, first to act through pulley 45 to lift the member 42 of thelocking mechanism, thereby freeing the valve-operating lever 32, formovement to position the valve in any one of its alternative positions,and then to restore said lock to pcsition shown in Fig. 4, to causeengagement of its appropriate notch 43 with the valve operating lever,to hold it in its adjusted position against the pull' of the weight 34.

It will be understood that other locking 4.devices and operating devicesmight readily be substituted for those herein shown, but it will beunderstood that the essential features of my invention may be embodiedeven in the simple apparatus illustrated. The outlet of the fan 25 opensinto a discharge pipe 50, preferably of only slightly greater capacitythan any one of t-he leads 13, 13a or 13b and with the discharge pipe isconnected a dust collector 5l, of any desired type. The grain trap,generally illustrated at 27, comprises vertical sides 52, and end walls52', one of which is preferably inclined to narrow the lower or pocketportion of the trap, below the inlet trunk 28,

In the upper portion of the trap. in the area of most directcommunication between the inlet 28 and the t outlet 26, I provide oneach side a series of delectors 53, each tapering from its top to itsbottom, and hinged as at 54, to the side wall of the casing. For eachdeflector an adjusting rod 55 is provided, passing through a suitableaperture in the side of the casing.

The operation of my improved system is as follows: Under normalconditions the valve 30, standing in theuposition shown in Fig. 3,effects communication between the fan and the lead communicating. w1ththe first floor suction main and elevator boots, and the valve 2l standsin position to open communication of the elevator boots with the main.

Thus the fan normally draws air from the elevator boots through thepipes 20, 13 and valve 30 in the grain trap, and discharges thedust-laden air free from grain, through the delivery ipe 50 to the dustcollector ,51. It will e understood that the fan and delivery pipe areproperly j proportioned for this service, but are not of size largeenough to handle the material and air from all of the main leads atonce. If now it is desired to clean up the first floor, the floor isswept and the material gathered in piles in front of the sweeps 12, thevalves 21 of the various branch pipes moved to position to closecommunication of pipes 20 with the pipe 11 and open communicationbetween thesweeps 12 and the upper parts of the pipes 11, so that theair, after entering at the sweeps, passes the grain trap 27 and the fan25, and is delivered through the delivery pipe 50 to dust collector 51for the separation of the dust and free delivery of the air in the usualmanner. i

In cleaning up tb'e building it is customary to have a cleaning crew whogo through the building systematically, proceeding from Hoor to floor,so that it is unnecessary to have suction applied to the pipe 10 of moretbanone floor at a time. Now assuming that the cupola is to be cleaned,the crew, starting with the floor desired to berfirst cleaned, say thetop floor, operate the cable 46 to raise thelocking-member 41, releasingthe lever 32 for operation, then operate the cable 39 to cause the lever32 to throw the valve member -30 into communication with the lead 13b,andrelease the lock-controlling rope 46 to permit the lock to return toposition, so that its appropriate notch 43, engages the lever 32, andholds the valve in its adjusted position. Now suction is created throughthe leads 13b and the. upper, normally-open suction main 10, to thesweeps 12 on the machinery floor of the cupola, and after said machineryfloor is cleaned the crew may proceed downward through the' severalfloors below, at each floor to be cleaned ,throwing the valve 14 to opencommunication between the suction pipe for that floor and the risers13b, and at the same time to close off the normally-open lead to theupper floor. All the floors of the cupo-1a having been cleaned thelocking device is released and the valve allowed to automatically returnto normal position. lVhen the belt gallery is to be cleaned the sameoperation follows, save that the operating cable 38 is moved only todraw the valve 30 to mid position to communicate-with the lead 131. Itwill be understood that during the large portion of the timev when thebuilding is not being cleaned the system stands always in normalcondition, so that the fan acts to ventilate the elevator boots.

It will thus .be seen that when the dust from cleaning is not beinghandled the fan acts to draw air through one lead only, and that duringthe cleaning operation each of the various leads, extending to thedifferent areas of the buildi'ngis in turn connected for communicationwith the fan, so that the action of the fanl is at lall times localizedto create suction to some one lead, thereby pre venting the cloggingheretofore referred to as of common occurrence inthe old style system,and enabling the installation of a relativelyfsmall fan, small trunkingand delivery piping and small dust collectors.

In Fig. 8 the modified valve arrangement, as shown, provides a trunk128, which opens to the grain trap in the usual manner, ,and the leads113, 113a and 113b, corresponding with the leads 13, 13a and 13b in theother views. Eachof these leads is provided with a separate valve foropening or closing the communication with the trunk 128, and said trunkis properly proportioned for handling the air and material from only onelead at a time. I preferably provide in connection with the separatevalves 114, 114a and 114b, of the several leads, means for insuring theclosure of the normally-open lead 113, whenever either of the leads1133, or 113b is opened by manipulation of its valve, and conversely forautomatically opening communication between the .lead 113 and the trunk,when both the leads 113a and 113b are closed by their valves. To thisend the several valves are connected by a series of cables to secure thedesired results, in the embodiment shown each of thevalves indicated bythe numeral 114 with or without exponents, being provided with acorrespondingly distinguished operating lever 115, to which is connectedan operating cord 116.

Pulleys 117, 117EL and 117" are provided with the several cordsrespectively, and, as an example, the desired result may be accomplishedby lconnecting with the cord 116EL a cable 118, extending over pulleys119 and 120, kfor connection with the cord 117a and also a cable 121extending over pulley 122, for connection with cord 1161. Thus as eitherof the cords 116a or 116b is operated to open its corresponding valve11421 or 114), the

. lever 115 or valve 114 is raised to cut oil' communication between thenormally-open llead 113 and the trunk 128, andV conversely when theoperating cord last operated lis released, to permit the restoration ofvalve 114a or 114b to normal closed position, the valve 114 is swung byits weight to normal wen or open position. Such a construction' lackssome of the advantages of the preferred form of construction, but it'wilL obviouslyr operate in 'a measure to secure the benefit iny cidentto the installation of myl improved system. The ain trap shown also actswith great eiciency -to prevent heavy dust from being deposited with thegrain. The grain in transit through the trap dropsA in a curve into thepocket-and tends to carry with it heavy dust particles, but thedeliectors 53, laterally restricting the direct air path froml inlet tooutlet, force the air to sweep downward through the grain path, therebyfreeing the grain from dust as it is 4falling into same conventionally,it will be understood ,I

that I do not limit my invention lto the spe ciiic construction ofdevices herein shown and described further t-han as specified in theclaims, as it will be obvious that in the practice of the invention thedetails incident to the installation will vary widely to suit therequirements of the particular buildings through the exercise of meremechanical skill.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Pat,- ent, of the United States, is:

1. In a system of the character described, a fan, a plurality of leads,extending to different areas, means for eliecting communication betweenthe fan and any selected lead, operating means therefor extending to andoperable from any area to ellect communication between the lead fromsaid area and the fan, a locking device for said valve, and

imeans operable from any areafor releasing said locking device. Y

2. In a system of the character described, a fan, leads extending todiiferent areas, each adapted to supply the fan to its normal ca*pacity, means for effecting communication between the fan and anyselected lead, operating means therefor extending. to and op- .'erablefrom any area to effect communication between the lead for said area andthe fan, a locking device operable from any area to maintain the valvein adjusted position, and means for automatically restoring the valve toconnection with a predetermined lead whenever said locking means isreleased.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my Y hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM E. ALLINGTON.

In the presence of- GEO. T. MAY, J r.,

MARY F. ALLEN.

